Fused Bracts of ‘Pam’s Mountain Bouquet’ Chinese Dogwood (photo by Dr. Alan Windham, UT Plant Pathologist, Nashville, TN)

‘Pam’s Mountain Bouquet’ is a new Chinese dogwood (Cornus kousa) cultivar from the plant scientists from the University of Tennessee Dogwood Working Team (USDA hardiness zones 5-8). Mountain Bouquet is a near-white flowering form whose petal-like bracts fuse into near perfect squares. The cultivar blooms slightly later than other flowering dogwoods, helping to extend dogwood’s spring flowering season.

Mountain Bouquet tends to bloom heavily annually. Its unique fused bracts should become the point of conversation in your garden. About 82% of all bracts display some degree of fusion among the yellow-green colored bracts. UT plant scientists report that 80% of bracts were partially attached; 50% had all four bracts fused together. Mountain Bouquet is also highly resistant to powdery mildew and dogwood anthracnose foliar diseases.

The cultivar was discovered among a planting of seedlings at the University of Tennessee (UT) Arboretum in Oak Ridge, TN from seed gifted to UT by Ms. Polly Hill. ‘Pam’s Mountain Bouquet’ is a selection from the original seedlings.

Mountain Bouquet is expected to become available to homeowners in the next 3-4 years as nurseries build up their inventory. You may ask: “who is Pam?”. She is the wife of Dr. Robert (Bob) Trigiano who developed this amazing new dogwood.